Is it just me???

Or are a lot of bloggers that are dropping off/reducing their blogging severely in the last month or so???

I’m wondering if folks are just getting tired of all the BS out there between politics, scandals, and now the NSA revelations…

Sadly, I guess I’m going to have to go through my links and drop folks that haven’t blogged in a while.  Actually I’ve been meaning to do that for a while, and add a few folks too, but honestly work is kicking my ass right now.

In other news, the poor bastard sitting next to me on the airplane this morning was 6’10” and stuck in a middle seat.  I traded with him because he LITERALLY had his knees up under his chin!  And I got stuck (again) with the chicken parts lunch…

I swear I’ve NEVER seen anything that looked like ‘that’ come off a chicken in my life…

At least I can get a good breakfast this morning to kinda make up for that!  I joked with Julie the other night that I always ‘try’ to have at least one good meal a trip, but damn, I truly hate it when I ONLY get one good meal a trip… Sigh…

In answer to the email about reading, yes reading a LOT of books (thank you Nook)!!!

Read both the Sarah Hoyt Darkship novels, read all three of the Raymond Feist Chaoswar Saga.  It’s truly hard to believe he wrote the first novel 30 years ago!!!

Currently reading American Gun by Chris Kyle.  How can I read so much you ask?

Well, I can’t do any work on airplanes, and I’ve seen all the damn movies, and I read really fast… 🙂  Currently I have 729 books on my Nook, and I’ve probably read all but maybe 10 of them.

 

Comments

Is it just me??? — 31 Comments

  1. “but honestly work is kicking my ass right now”. And a ton of other business for folks, probably. At least I know I’m too busy to be much other than confused right now.

  2. I admit to ruthlessly enforcing sidebar standards. I delete blogs after a few months of inactivity. Same goes for Twitter follows.

  3. I’ve slacked off because I have been getting ready for this weekends fun show. Since I sold out at the last show I have loaded close to 15,000 rounds. After the show is over maybe I can return to normal.

  4. pretty much sick of the political situation here. too disheartened to talk about it.

  5. I’m sure there is a subset of bloggers who stop because they’re tired of the BS or because the tinfoil hat gets too tight, but in my case it was a simple matter of available time. My blog has been defunct for several years and has all but disappeared from everyone’s sidebars….but the Google hits do keep trickling in.

    I was never able to find the magical 36 hour day either. Between professional commitments, hobbies, professional commitments related to hobbies, and trying to spend at least some time with my family, I had to let the writing fall to the side. My primary creative outlets are now forums and other people’s comment sections.

    The simple answer is usually the best……folks are just too darn busy and have to prioritize their time. Please continue writing if you can. It allows the rest of us to live vicariously through you.

  6. I have never been one to be able to post daily.
    For me it is life that gets in the way.
    Way to much to do at the office.
    Too many activities at home.
    not enough time for extracurricular activities leaves little to talk about.
    An ranting on politics is not fulfilling at this time.

  7. One of the reasons I try to avoid politics is that it would make blogging no fun. No fun at all. At my age, if it isn’t fun or doesn’t contribute to paying the bills, I don’t do it.

    Blogging is fun, though it doesn’t pay the bills.

    Work pays the bills, it used to be fun. But the Feds sucked all the fun right out of it.

    So there it is. I also need to prune the sidebar. And I’m the kinda guy who hates to throw anything away.

    Sigh…

  8. Poor Economy (no matter what the Stock Market does), no major Election Cycle for over a year, Summer Fun, World Crises out of our Control, DC doesn’t give a Damn, “Follow me Me ME! on TweetBook NOW!”, lot’s of reasons for Blogs to Die Off.

    But the BLNN will STILL be here, “Feeding the News you can Use to those who Care!” ; )

  9. I love to read, but I’m not a fast reader. A combination of ADHD and being a product of the Atlanta City School System hindered my speed in reading. Have you read the Jack Reacher Series? But I will read anything but the love books. And I would love to see you fix, in your down time, you bog so I don’t have fill out the name, email and website every time I want to leave a reply? It is aggravating and I am too old to be aggravated. Have mercy.

  10. Yep,it’s just you! Actually, I’ve noticed the same thing. A lot of the bloggers I used to read now have facebook pages that crosstie to their blogs, that crosstie to tweety accts, that crosstie to email…. I like blogs better, possibly because none of my family read my blog (TYJ) or know what I’m reading, else I would be writing this from The Home for Crazy Old Folk!

  11. I suspect those that move on from blogging are simply moving on . . . . interests come and go. I let a couple of blogs go, one the personal/ranting/frustration blog because I am to the point that venting simply doesn’t help all that much any more . . . and why share that level of frustration with others just to fire them up?? My remaining blog I try to keep to issues that have value from a training perspective. Probably more boring for folks, but more in line with where I want to invest my time.

    Good meals and travel do not go together easily. 🙂 Glad you had a sit down with Julie – home cooking is hard to beat!

    I truly enjoy reading as well – though I take the kindle route. I have a couple I’ve been saving for our annual trip to a little island in Lake Michigan – a week of bliss and doing nothing but hiking, good conversation and reading.

    Safe travels Jim!

  12. On behalf of us Tall Folk, thank you for your sacrifice.
    In your honor, I will refrain from kicking the next damnfool 5’1″ idjit taking up an emergency row seat.
    Just this once, though.

    TBG

  13. I would Agree with Brigid about the separation between Blog and FB.

    I have FB. I connect to family, Friends, old friend, and some new Friends there. I spew a lot of my non-sense there. My blog is for me and the few in the world that are interested and I guess the NSA. My family is not part of the Blog therefore it is solely for my therapy. I do not have FB and my blog linked because they have two distinctly separate purposes for me.

  14. I second tbg’s thanks(Hey, I ain’t called Stretch for nothing)
    Just picked up Kyle’s book this AM at local Big Box Store. Looking at index. I’m 6 of 10 weapons listed.
    When Dad traveled a lot he knew Eastern (ya, a long time ago) would serve one of 2 meals. Cold fried chicken or mystery loaf with congealed brown gravy. We frequently stopped at the steak house on Van Dorn St. on return drive home.

  15. It’s not just you; lots start blogs & then go nowhere. My blog’s first follower now puts three or four lengthy posts on FB & only blogs once a week.

    Kinda reminds me of the old “hobby vs. way of life” arguments at the sci-fi conventions.

  16. I try to blog every couple of days, but sometimes life gets in the way. Then again, a lot of my blogfodder comes from life’s craziness, so I guess it’s a symbiotic codependency.

    Some of the best writers have let it go, and I miss them. But a lot of great new writers are coming along, and they fill the gap.

    And yes, thank you for helping a tall man out. We’re used to being jammed into the middle seat ghetto.

  17. Guilty as charged …

    Working 14-16 hr days, 6 days a week leaves me enough time to shower, eat, read a selection of posts (this being one) and then the rest get the dreaded “mark as read”. By that time i’m late for bed …

  18. You keep putting your $.02 worth in and I keep reading. looking forward to ‘part 3′. Just bought Chris’ book at CostCo. Put it in my to read pile.

  19. Man, I enjoy reading a handful of blogs and their comments and then I:
    Have no time to blog.
    Have nothing new to say.
    And my tablet that I got to replace my laptop is not conducive to typing (what a mistake!).

  20. It’s not just you. Blogging is hard work, and even harder to keep up for any length of time. I am not blogger — although my daughter is — and I see how much time and thought it takes to do it right.

    But keep going!!! I enjoy all your posts, and I absolutely love your Gray Man!

    Also a sidebar thanks to Bayou and Brigid and a few others who keep going, too…

  21. NFO, I have 2000+ books on my android tablet. 😉

    I’ve been one of those in the duldrums. It seems the news is so bad for so long, it just gets depressing. Regardless, I post every weekday even if it’s to say, “No post today.”

  22. Hey Old NFO;

    I have noticed a dropoff of bloggers. I am on facebook(barely) I have major problems with the privacy issues and that crooks and dirtbags can use it to mine information to your patterns. Also I blog because I already had problems with facebook a few years ago when I was reported for “Hate speech” by FB. A flaming liberal lost an argument with me. Those silly facts do get in the way. They locked my account for 3 weeks while they investigated. They cleared me of any wrongdoing. This really soured me on it so I started blogging. I keep my blog separate from my FB. Because my real name is on FB, I have “Nomme de Guerre” on blogger. If somebody hates what I say, they can’t contact my employer and get me fired or try to track me down and I have to shoot them or something. I had reservations about posting those airplane pics that I posted a few weeks ago because it confirmed where I work at. Only a few people that read on my blog know where I work until I did that. But I justified it by “well there are a lot of us there so good luck finding me kinda thing.”
    I blog because it gives me a chance to vent, and that better organizes my thoughts. I have found out that I am a much better writer then I was when I first started. I also post things that interest me, if I facebooked it, it would be lost in all the noise that is FB. I have become online friends with some good people that I associate with. And to be tacky, it is my little corner of the web that is mine. I know sounds kinda corny. I will continue to blog for as long as I can until I either croak, or get shut down by the gestapo er I mean the DHS or something for saying something unkind about the chicago messiah or something.

  23. For me it’s work is kicking my ass and leaving me already exhausted enough I don’t feel like wading through the political bullshit.

  24. I suspect it is mostly time. I, of course, come from an Entirely different subset of bloggers who are highly unlikely to think that anything politically nefarious is happening. (yes, I am very, very good at compartments in my life) They too aren’t blogging much at the moment.
    The rise of tumbler, twitter, and photo sharing has meant that people (most of whom don’t actually Like to write) tend to use those media more as well.

  25. I think part of it is that the lazy, hazy days of summer are here, and being enjoyed.

    Additionally, Obama has put the liberal-progressives on places like the gathering place of my Facebook Friends, which has “Friends” of all stripes, into and advanced state of ecstasy with their President of elected-choice, current occupant of the White House, assaulting the 1st and 2nd Amendment, and wanting to put the Pro-Life/Anti-Abortion Catholic Church out of business while making the sacrament of Holy Matrimony between a man and a woman a quaint old, obsolete notion.

    Summertime is good time to regroup, recharge, resupply, and make ready for another charge up the “Hill.” – Have A RED, WHITE & BLUE INDEPENDENCE DAY 2013, Shipmate.

  26. When I started blogging, I still believed it was possible for the U.S. to recover. I think we are past that now. I think the Supreme Court’s upholding Obamacare was the financial straw that broke the camel’s back. That and the trillions of added debt and the 124 trillion of unfunded liability that no one want to even talk about. Everything I have left to say is about “Old America”. I post when something strikes me as postworthy. The rest of it is just noise. We are not going to recover.

    http://www.usdebtclock.org/

  27. All- Thanks, still on the iPhone in the middle of nowhere. Will try to comment later.

    Posted from my iPhone.